Declan Lyons is a Conservative activist based in Cheshire who is the North West regional press officer for Conservative Future. You can follow him here on Twitter.
I was quite shocked by a story that hit the news one week last month. The story in question is the one of David Askew, a man from Hattersley who was systematically bullied in (and around) his home by youths who were living on the estate. The constant bullying and abuse led, ultimately, to him being found dead outside his home.
As the week has progressed the story has got more grim, with footage emerging from the neighbours of Mr Askew at the end of his garden being driven insane by kids shouting abuse at him. David Cameron has had a lot of stick over his claim that Britain is broken, but it made me wonder, can people really discredit that claim now?
I got into a discussion with somebody about the benefits system and how it has lost the purpose for which it was intended when it was first created all those years ago. We agreed that when it was created, Britain's social conscience dictated that you grew up, got an education, got a job and then settled down for old age whether that be with a significant other or not. The benefits system was built, rightly so, on the idea that anyone who genuinely couldn't work (for whatever reason that may be), would receive help from the State. The introduction of that is something of which everyone in Britain should be proud.
However, all these years down the line we are left with a Britain that seems to have pockets totally devoid of this conscience. Whether you believe the stories or not about the kids who have babies just so they get more benefits has become immaterial when you compare it to the greater issues in society, and this is what leads me back to the case of David Askew.
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